WHEN to slow down ? ? ?

[gooseman]

I do take the point that sometimes soft ground means that stakes however well driven in, can get pulled out.

 

But assuming you are not in that situation no really well tied up boat should be capable of being dragged backwards and forwards by any distance. A boat tied along these lines....

 

 

cannot move forward or backwards, because of the triangle shape made by the ropes. Whichever way it tries to go, a rope is restraining it.

 

As was said in the other thread, it will not stop you being bounced up and down, but there really is no need to be shuffling to and fro.

 

Alan

 

i do like how you have used a wyvern boat as a example,

 

how many people have to shout at them to slow down as they pass your moored boats? (i mean hire boats in general)

 

i tend to have to shout several times a day to hire boats to slow down, when your trying to do a pump out, and a hire boat comes past at 6 mph, its abit worrying

[alan_fincher]

i do like how you have used a wyvern boat as a example,

 

how many people have to shout at them to slow down as they pass your moored boats? (i mean hire boats in general)

 

i tend to have to shout several times a day to hire boats to slow down, when your trying to do a pump out, and a hire boat comes past at 6 mph, its abit worrying

I have hired the boat in the picture, (twice), and can assure you without any doubt that she was incapable of anything approaching 6 mph!

 

That one, (Cherry), is in private hands now, and had a 2 pot Lister that was governed back to the point where it would have been challenged to break 4 mph.

 

I try and tie up well, whether in a hire boat, or my own.

 

Alan

[gooseman]

I have hired the boat in the picture, (twice), and can assure you without any doubt that she was incapable of anything approaching 6 mph!

 

That one, (Cherry), is in private hands now, and had a 2 pot Lister that was governed back to the point where it would have been challenged to break 4 mph.

 

I try and tie up well, whether in a hire boat, or my own.

 

Alan

 

im not saying all of them, but some of them come past a stupid speeds, and i have about 18 boats moored one after the other, and some of them wont stop when there is a boat being lifted out of the water, when we tell them to stop, for their own saftey!

 

the best time is when its raining then they just motor past with no regards to the residents of the marina

[alan_fincher]

 

Can you answer a question that's always puzzled me....

 

Most marinas I take to be some kind of off-line moorings.

 

AFAIK, Willowbridge has only linear canal-side moorings, or boats craned out on the side.

 

So, why is it called a Marina ?

 

Just curious, that's all!

 

[rover220]

The technique employed by many heading northwards here is to carry on past the moored boats without reducing speed until halfway along the moorings, when they spot the pub.

 

Judging your speed by revs is not hard and fast. The 1000 rpm mentioned above would be very different for someone with a vintage engine. Your gearbox might be a 2:1 reduction, another's 3:1. Your prop size may be different to someone else's. The depth of water is another important factor. Surely judging by eye - looking at the bank behind you to see how much ripple your wash is creating - is the best way to assess how much you will affect a moored boat.

 

exactly. it cant get much simpler than this can it?

[purplehaze]

i do like how you have used a wyvern boat as a example,

 

how many people have to shout at them to slow down as they pass your moored boats? (i mean hire boats in general)

 

i tend to have to shout several times a day to hire boats to slow down, when your trying to do a pump out, and a hire boat comes past at 6 mph, its abit worrying

 

Yet another pop at hire boats!!! Yes some do speed past moored boats BUT so do private owners, can we not agree that both are either innocent or guilty of speeding. We have hired boats for over 20 years and do not speed past moored boats, this year we were even thanked for slowing down.

 

Also shouting at hire boat crews does't help, do you shout at private boats that do the same? We find that calm considered comments are far more helpful. If you are out on a boat for the first time advice on how to go past moored boats, do locks etc is far more helpful than being shouted at. We have met new boaters who have been totally intimidated by comments on their boating skills and who may well be put off from boating on the canals for life, this would be a real shame as its a lovely place to be.

 

Julie

[bag 'o' bones]

I'm not exactly a boat handling expert but rather then rely on the techo i've looking at how much of a bow wave the front end makes. Seems to be working so far - no waves = no movement of a moored boat, well that's the theory anyway. I've not been shouted at - yet.

 

Did a perfect mooring maneuver into our rather tight mooring today and got a clap from our expert live-a-board neighbours so quite chuffed to be honest.

Edited September 20, 2008 by bag 'o' bones

[Nic]

Yet another pop at hire boats!!! Yes some do speed past moored boats BUT so do private owners...

Its the assumption that only novices hire. I know several seasoned hirers who go out for one holiday afloat a year, so owning a boat doesn't make any sense.

 

Also shouting at hire boat crews does't help, do you shout at private boats that do the same? We find that calm considered comments are far more helpful.

True, especially if you consider how long it takes for a boat to slow, simply shouting "slow down" or "tick-over" won't miraculously make them slow - they may well have slowed down but not realised they can't leave it until the boats are almost upon each other.

[Naughty Cal]

Our boat makes a lot of waves at slow speeds. Its designed for higher speed river and coastal use. Regardless of how slow we go it still rocks moored boats around. It isnt that we speed past them its just the design of the hull. We throttle back well before approaching moored boats but it makes no difference. We have been shouted at numerous times for speeding when doing under 3mph (we have a speed and depth log).

[Chris-B]

 

Can you answer a question that's always puzzled me....

 

Most marinas I take to be some kind of off-line moorings.

 

AFAIK, Willowbridge has only linear canal-side moorings, or boats craned out on the side.

 

So, why is it called a Marina ?

 

Just curious, that's all!

 

Probably the same reason that Denham Yacht Station is called that without a single Yacht in sight

 

Chris

[alan_fincher]

Probably the same reason that Denham Yacht Station is called that without a single Yacht in sight

 

Chris

Fair enough !

 

And High Line Yachting, of course......

[debbifiggy]

Our boat makes a lot of waves at slow speeds. Its designed for higher speed river and coastal use. Regardless of how slow we go it still rocks moored boats around. It isnt that we speed past them its just the design of the hull. We throttle back well before approaching moored boats but it makes no difference. We have been shouted at numerous times for speeding when doing under 3mph (we have a speed and depth log).

Sounds like you've got far too many horses in that engine as well as being short and wide. Not a happy combination on inland waters but probably huge amounts of fun whizzing about the coast. The phrase horses for courses comes to mind. To avoid upsetting people on canals due to wash/disturbance the best idea is a craft designed for the canal (i.e. long and thin) and tickover everytime, i.e. as low as the revs will go and speed under 2mph.

 

I'd love to have a go on a fast boat for a change and not upset people. Sometimes round my neck of the woods you are lucky to get above 2mph :-)

 

D

Edited November 13, 2008 by debbifiggy

[mykaskin]

Our boat makes a lot of waves at slow speeds. Its designed for higher speed river and coastal use. Regardless of how slow we go it still rocks moored boats around. It isn't that we speed past them its just the design of the hull. We throttle back well before approaching moored boats but it makes no difference. We have been shouted at numerous times for speeding when doing under 3mph (we have a speed and depth log).

 

You say it rocks moored boats around, but I assume that it's not really sucking them about. Unless excessive I don't see how anyone can complain about a little rocking (helps you get to sleep ). If anyone complains remind them it's a boat, and they do move about.

 

We occasionally get little dingies running up and down creating quite a large wave, but even canoeists manage just as big waves, only worry if there is major pulling at ropes.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[Naughty Cal]

Sounds like you've got far too many horses in that engine as well as being short and wide. Not a happy combination on inland waters but probably huge amounts of fun whizzing about the coast. The phrase horses for courses comes to mind. To avoid upsetting people on canals due to wash/disturbance the best idea is a craft designed for the canal (i.e. long and thin) and tickover everytime, i.e. as low as the revs will go and speed under 2mph.

 

I'd love to have a go on a fast boat for a change and not upset people. Sometimes round my neck of the woods you are lucky to get above 2mph :-)

 

D

 

It is great fun at higher speeds but a cow on inland waterways. We wanted a craft to do both so we were not limited with our cruising range, unfortunately it isnt all that good on canals. At 800rpm we are doing 5mph. It ticks over at 700rpm which equates to around 4mph so trying to go dead slow past moored boats means backing off well before hand and coasting in neutral with no steering! It is quite short and fat but that helps with stability at sea.

[Pretty Funked Up]

Take a quick look at the disturbed water around the rudder, if there is ANY white there then you are going too fast. (narrow boats)

[ditch paddler]

Take a quick look at the disturbed water around the rudder, if there is ANY white there then you are going too fast. (narrow boats)

How excactly do you come up with that.

[Pretty Funked Up]

How excactly do you come up with that.

 

Just personal experience and people actually coming out the boat and saying "thank you" which i presume was for passing at a reasonable speed, i do this myself when peeps deserve a thank you.

 

there seems to be 4 passing speeds...

1. you rush out boat and shout "slow down".

2. you just scowl because they going too fast but are obviously making an effort.

3. you wave because its pretty slow although not slow enough.

4. you feel the need to say thanks to them for actually slowing right down as most dont.

Edited November 15, 2008 by Pretty Funked Up

[David Schweizer]

Take a quick look at the disturbed water around the rudder, if there is ANY white there then you are going too fast. (narrow boats)

Don't know where you got that one from. I could pass your boat at full throttle and there would be no white in the disturbed water behind my boat. But I would still be going too fast.

 

It has always been my understanding that the white "bubbling" is caused by the action of the prop drawing in air and mixing it with the water which is then ejected past the rudder. If the outside edge of prop is a long way down, very little or no air will be drawn in and therefore very little or no bubbling will occur. Conversly if the prop is only a couple of inches below the surface it will draw in a lot of air, and a lot of bubbling will occur even at low speeds.

Edited November 16, 2008 by David Schweizer

[Pretty Funked Up]

all true.

But i was only going on my experience with 3 different steel narrowboats on hand dug canals.

Where prop size and depth will all be very similar to each other. I found that no white gets me a thankyou rather than option 1,2 and 3.

I honestly didnt mean/expect for you to apply the theory to your submarine.

[Liam]

How do you know that the "thank you" you receive isn't a sarcastic comment?

[Pretty Funked Up]

hehe It could well be, cant deny that.

 

But it is just extremely unlikely.

[David Schweizer]

all true.

But i was only going on my experience with 3 different steel narrowboats on hand dug canals.

Where prop size and depth will all be very similar to each other. I found that no white gets me a thankyou rather than option 1,2 and 3.

I honestly didnt mean/expect for you to apply the theory to your submarine.

You really do not know what you are talking about if you believe that statement to be true.

Edited November 17, 2008 by David Schweizer

[Pretty Funked Up]

similar means NOT the same.

Anything usefull to add?

about judging speed i mean!

Both the revs theory and waves on bank theory have all had similar holes picked in them, I only tried to suggest another method for judging your passing speed. sorry.

 

Now, interesting as you are, i have some socks to go and pair up.

 

Answering the original question, i would suggest slowing down between 80-100ft before the moored boat.

Edited November 19, 2008 by Pretty Funked Up

[JohnO]

It is interesting how regional variations in terminology persist despite the 'globalisation' enabled by this medium. I recently had occasion to seek help from BW when I grounded in the middle of the channel approaching one of the locks at the Birmingham end of the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal. The cheerful BW chap who came to help asked if he could borrow my 'Spanner' to let some water down because he had left his own in his van. He was referring to my 'windlass' and when I queried this with him he said they had always been called 'spanners' or 'lock spanners' in the Birmingham area . . .

 

 

Live in Brum; regularly boat through Brum; customers on boats in Brum and I've never, ever heard the windlass referred to as a spanner. The only regular alternative usage I hear is 'key'

Mike.

 

Spanner. A Black Country term I believe.